National Parks: Badlands, Wind Cave, and Theodore Roosevelt
We spent the last week of July on an absolutely fantastic road trip through the Dakotas. One of our parenting goals is to get the kids to as many National Parks as possible. We decided to start with Badlands, Wind Cave, and Theodore Roosevelt because they're the closest to home. Turns out they were also the PERFECT inaugural parks for young kids.
The landscape is radically different from anything the kids had ever seen -- Voyageurs or Shenandoah or Great Smoky Mountains wouldn't look terribly different from the woods around the cabin, but buttes and caves! It could have been the moon. I think the foreign landscape gave the kids a sense of why the Parks are so cool. Also, nothing was off limits. Those rocky buttes practically beg a child to come and climb. And they could climb! It wasn't like Yellowstone where you have to stay on a trail and many cool features are fundamentally untouchable. Soft rocks mean the Badlands landscape is constantly and rapidly changing. The rangers explained that climbing off-trail has less impact than a hard rain so we should feel free to explore.
We stayed in two cabins and one hotel. All were good, but the cabin at Cedar Pass in Badlands was great. We had a cooler full of snacks and picnic fixins so that we didn't have to eat out for every meal. There were some towns with good places to eat and some with almost nothing, so having cooler food allowed us to bypass the bottom of the fast-food barrel. The kids generally did great in the car with a combination of movies, books, and activities from the Target dollar bin. There was some screaming and whining, but no more than the usual levels of screaming and whining, but we were demanding a lot more from them in terms of activity and schedule so the overall ratio of awesomeness to obnoxiousness was really high.
Brace yourself for details and lots and lots of photos.
Day 1: Drive from Minneapolis to Badlands National Park
We rolled out of the driveway around 8 a.m. with a very neatly packed car. Even with luggage for 6, the cooler, pack n play, and stroller, we could still see out the back window. Karl FTW. Our first stop was Mitchell, SD for lunch and the Corn Palace. It was underwhelming -- I was prepared for an actual palace of corn, but it's more like an auditorium with corn murals. Pretty cool corn murals, but still, the children thought we were overselling this vacation. We introduced the kids to Arby's and loaded back in the car for another three hours to Badlands National Park.
Arrived at Badlands around 4:00. We stopped at the Visitor's Center, picked up the kids' Junior Ranger packets, explored a little around the trailhead for the Door/Notch trails. The kids immediately clambered up the first rocky thing they found. Heidi was nervous, especially when gusty wind blew her beloved new hat into a canyon, but she rallied to keep up with the older kids. They picked out a "trail" that consisted of poles loosely marking a possible path into the distance over the top of the moonscape, so we had a plan for Monday morning!
Restaurant options in Interior, SD are Limited. There are two restaurants and the first was inside the town gas station. We opted for the second, Wagon Wheel, which was charmingly local. They had surprisingly decent beer and lots of frozen pizza/nugget type options and two horses in the paddock next door, so everyone was pretty happy. A baby chick (maybe turkey?) hopped across the patio and we met half of the locals in trying to identify the bird's home.
We had an excellent little cabin at Cedar Pass lodge. The cabins have been very recently renovated and felt very fresh. It was fun to be all cozied up together in one room, like camping, except with real beds and air conditioning and a nice bathroom. We had a lovely view of the buttes and a bunch of sunflowers in the back. Off to a good start!
Day 2: Badlands National Park + Wall
We kicked off the first morning with muffins brought from home and some overloaded daypacks. Our first stops were the Door and Window trails scoped out the previous evening. The kids absolutely loved clambering all over the moonscape of the door trail. Henry and Ingrid ran ahead looking for the next marker and climbing everything in sight. Even Fritz and Heidi did really well -- we hardly carried Fritz at all. Ingrid did the whole thing in a zebra-ears headband, which solicited lots of comments from fellow hikers about the unusual wildlife.
We planned to do an additional hike but it was insanely hot. Like 98 degrees by 10:30 in the morning. The kids were tired and sweaty, so we called an audible on the Notch trail that I had planned and drove into Wall for the fabled Wall Drug. It was just as weird and cheesy as I remembered. Of course the children loved it. Henry picked out a pocket knife with his name on it (not an option for the less-commonly-named Heidi, Ingrid, or Frederick) and a collection of rocks. Ingrid got white leather cowboy boots. Heidi opted for a pink cowboy hat. Fritz had a meltdown when we wouldn't get him boots. It was all very them.
We picked up Subway in Wall and took it back to the park and enjoyed a picnic at one of the overlooks. Then it was back to the cabin for naps for the younger kids, while the big kids went horseback riding! They rode with Hurley Butte Horseback and it was a huge hit. Rather than a traditional boring trail ride, this was riding on an actual working ranch with one of the sons from the ranch family. The kids got to explore a little and Karl learned a lot about ranching in the area. Highly recommended.
We had dinner from the cooler at the Bigfoot Pass overlook, which was lovely. Then we did the Fossil Trail around twilight, but alas, there was nowhere to see actual fossils, just a few interpretive signs. The kids were squirrely and we were tired of yelling at them not to climb so high, so we headed for the cabin. Fritz and I snuck out to chase the sunset. And then it was a hard sleep for all of us.
Writing it all down, it was insane that we covered so much in the first day! Badlands was phenomenal and the kids were so wonderful. They were eager and interested and supportive of one another. The park had loads of other trails -- if we'd had more time or older kids, we would have hiked the Notch trail or part of Saddleback, and I would love to go back and do the entire Castle Trail on horseback -- but we actually did most of what was realistically possible with such small kids.
Day 3: Badlands to Wind Cave
We slept late (like 8:00) and went by the visitor's center to turn in the kids' Junior Ranger packets. The Ranger read them the park pledge and the kids were so earnest I nearly cried. Henry especially took this very seriously and really worked hard on his packets at each park.
We decided to drive the long way out of the park and I convinced everyone we could do one more short hike before we left. Famous last words. We pulled into the trailhead for Saddleback Pass because it looked like fun climbing near the trailhead and I thought we could go just half a mile out and back and call it a morning. We walked 50 feet and Fritz fell into a cactus. It was like a cartoon -- dozens of spines sticking straight out of his leg like a pincushion. It was awful. I had prepared a solid first aid kit and looked up some basic care for things I thought might conceivably happen. Gotta be honest, cactus was not something I expected in a state that far north. But I did have tweezers and witch hazel so we were mostly okay. The kids fed him M&Ms from the trail mix bag while I plucked spines from his leg. He was surprisingly tough.
Having removed all/most of the cactus from the toddler, we loaded back into the car and headed toward the park entrance. We had driven ten minutes when Ingrid said she didn't feel well. I peeled off the road and Ingrid spilled out of the car and puked repeatedly.
Between the barf and the cactus we decided it was time to give up. We skipped all additional planned activities and rerouted our drive through Rapid City, where we could visit Firehouse Brewery for a mid-morning cactus-recovery beer. The town was adorable and the brewery was excellent and after a beverage (or two) we had all forgiven South Dakota for the morning and were ready to move to Rapid City permanently.
An hour drive got us to Wind Cave National Park. We spotted pronghorn sheep and prairie dogs on the way in -- our first wildlife sighting!
We checked out animal pelts and got Junior Ranger packets while we waited for the Natural Entrance tour. This was the only realistic tour option for all four kids, especially since we weren't sure how the girls would do in a damp, cramped cave. Our tour leader was THE BEST -- Ranger Ben totally made that tour. He had a terrific knack for recounting the history of the cave in a series of stories.
Henry really wanted to go back on the harder cave tours. As it turned out, we could have stayed awhile to let him do another tour and just let the younger kids do an above-ground hike, but it was getting late and we wanted to get into the hotel.
We drove into Custer, which was our jumping-off point for Mt. Rushmore and Custer State Park. It was a great little town with lots of restaurant options. We stayed in a two-room suite at the Bavarian Inn. It was a nice space and very clean (though lacking in Bavarian themed decor, to Karl's dismay). Dinner was at the Begging Burro -- super solid Mexican food! The only downside was that the waiter was too slow for me to get a second tasty margarita.
There was still plenty of evening left so we decided to see Mt. Rushmore by twilight. Folks, I know I'm supposed to feel great awe and patriotism, but I just do not get Mt. Rushmore. I suppose it's an impressive testament to an idea in action but....it just doesn't do it for me. Give me the Lincoln Memorial any day. So we paid $10 for parking and took the requisite family photo. The evening light display is supposed to be cool but we just couldn't stay late enough.
Day 4: Custer State Park
We woke up bright eyed and bushy tailed and eager to see some prairie animals so we started out to drive the Wildlife Loop. It was a total dud. Not a single large animal to be found even though we were on the road early in the morning. Unfortunately, spending the first hour in the car without seeing anything made everyone severely obnoxious and I was ready to leave them all in the prairie and wish them well. That not being allowed, we moved on to Sylvan Lake for a hike. The lake was beautiful and the hike was a perfect short loop with lots of fun terrain -- a rock-hop bridge, climbing up and down stones, viewing climbers tackling tall boulders, a stream and waterfall. The hike ends at a swimming beach but everyone except me and Fritz were to wussy to swim in the cold, cold water.
Everyone was still teetering on the cusp of obnoxiousness, so we decided to forgo another margarita lunch at the Begging Burro and returned to the hotel to picnic from the cooler. The older kids were supposed to do a trail ride while the younger ones napped, but neither of them wanted to rally, so they just swam in the hotel pool all afternoon. It was time for a break.
Refreshed after naps and chlorine, we reconvened for a dinner hayride with Blue Bell Chuckwagon Cookout. This was extremely cheesy but SO FUN for the kids. Our cowboy entertainer was the P.E. teacher at the local elementary school so he was great with the kids. Henry made a buddy, girls loved the hats and the music, Fritz just wanted to climb up and down the wagon ladder. Food was quite respectable and we got to see a beautiful part of the park. If you're in Custer, it's a great way to spend an evening with younger kids.
Day 5: Drive to North Dakota
The girls and I picked up breakfast at Baker's Bakery & Cafe while the boys packed up the car for our long-ish drive to North Dakota. Our plan was to head back into Custer State Park for Heidi to ride a pony and then do another hike. The big kids were surprisingly supportive of driving half an hour and standing around for half an hour so Heidi could ride. She was really excited about this event but got a little nervous when the moment came. I thought she might balk...and then the guide told her the horse's name.
And everything was fine. Better than fine. Maybe the most fun anyone has ever had riding twice around a small oval.
Just as she came around the final bend, the sky opened up to pouring rain with small hail. So again we skipped a final hike and detoured to Prairie Berry Winery for decent food and drink. I expected TripAdvisor overhype but it was really great. We brought home four bottles of Red Ass Rhubarb wine and will be ordering more.
Thus refreshed, we got back in the car for the 4.5 hour drive to Medora, ND. Google routed us on gravel roads for awhile, which was initially baffling but ended up being the loveliest part of the drive. We checked in at the Theodore Roosevelt Visitor Center and got ranger packets and checked the ranger talk schedule. Everyone was very excited about this park because it gets so few visitors. The initial views did not disappoint.
We had rented a small cabin on AirBNB. Basically a trailer decorated like a cabin, but it had bedroom walls and a kitchen and a patio, which we were all ready for after 5 days. I wasn't sure what to expect from Medora -- TripAdvisor and GoogleMaps made it seem like there was absolutely nothing. There were actually a handful of decent-looking dinner options, half a dozen ice cream parlors and cutesy shops, and an absolutely fantastic coffee shop. We had dinner at Little Missouri, where the children were initially so loud they drove the neighboring diners away, but the replacement diners were bikers en route to Sturgis and totally awesome.
Karl put the girls to bed and Henry and I drove back to the Cottonwood campground for the ranger night talk. We learned about the elk population (i.e., if you import something without natural predators you will soon have way too many of them) and Henry got to play a dramatically dying elk. It was fun to get out with him alone and cool for him to glimpse this part of the Park experience even though we weren't camping.
Day 6: TR South Unit
The morning started on a high note with breakfast from Hidden Springs Java. Best cold brew and breakfast sammies west of the Mississippi, no joke, we're still talking about them two weeks later. We drove into the park and were immediately rewarded with bison! Or as Fritz would say, "A BISON! BISON, MAMA, A BISON! BISON BISON BISON!"
The main road through the park forms a loop and we basically did every short hike along the loop.
First, the Ridgeline interpretive trail. Henry read the guide for us as we trekked from post to post, which just warmed my heart. This one was a really good distance and terrain for us.
Second, Coal Vein trail, which led down into a rocky valley with good views and info on the local geology. Fritz was trying to kill himself and I took no pictures. Third, Buck Hill, which took us up and down really quickly. Henry and Fritz enjoyed the stairs, the girls, not so much.
And finally, Boicourt Overlook, which is just a paved trail up to a lookout point with excellent jumping rocks. It's fun to look back and see Heidi feeling like such a big kid, overcoming her native tendency to be anxious and making it to the top of the world on her own skinny legs.
Fritz did a ton of walking and hardly spent any time in the carrier. But sometimes he was just trying a little to hard to kill himself and had to be strapped down for everyone's sanity.
Having finished all the hikes one could realistically do with eight tiny legs, we piled into the car to drive home for lunch and soon came upon BISON, MAMA, BISON SEE DAT GUY BISON MAMA!!!!
All in all, an enormously successful morning. We stopped for provisions in Medora, grilled hot dogs at our cabin, then the big kids worked on their Junior Ranger packets and went to the geology talk at Painted Canyon while the little ones napped. Henry already knew everything from his interpretive trail reading and wowed everyone with his knowledge of Bentonite.
Post-naps, we had a rare ice cream before dinner, returned for dinner on the grill, and put the small ones to bed early. Henry and I went out for another night Ranger program, this one in honor of the full moon. There was traffic on the way.
Alas, it was cloudy part of the time, but still very cool to be out hiking in the park in near-darkness. We could hear buffalo and coyote in the valley below us.
Day 7: TR North Unit
We started early to drive an hour north to the North Unit of the Park (with a stop for Hidden Java sandwiches for the road). The kids were double excited for this day because they knew very very few people make it to the North Unit.
We spent most of the morning on the Caprock Coulee trail. There was lots of short ups and downs, some wooded and some rocky, and we spotted petrified wood, lots of cool rocks, and a bison print right in the mud next to the trail. Ingrid played in the trail dust and Fritz got into everything. Henry had become one with the National Parks and ran ahead like a mountain goat.
We stopped at the River Bend overlook for picnic lunch from the cooler. There were lots of retirees who smiled kindly at the children, who were surprisingly well-behaved as I doled out apple slices. I bribed everyone to sit on the 1930s stone shelter for potential Christmas card material.
Fritz snoozed in the car on the way back to Medora. We bathed some very dusty children and headed to Pitchfork Fondue for a grand finale dinner. Steak cooked on a pitchfork in oil: surprisingly tasty. We enjoyed the views over the valley and daydreamed about buying ten acres and building guest cabins.
Day 8: Drive
We finished the last-minute packing, grabbed one last round of coffee and breakfast sandwiches for the road, and got on Highway 94, which we did not leave for 8 hours. The kids watched eight million movies.
Roundup
It was such a great first trip to the National Parks! Doing three very different parks in one trip was fun and highlighted why the Parks are awesome. There was more (a lot more!) we could have done in each park, but I felt like we did everything we could with such small kids. We didn't want anyone -- them or us -- to be totally overwhelmed by trying hikes that were too challenging and that was the right decision. Short hikes with interesting terrain work so much better at this age than long hikes that are just flat treks. Also, staying two or three nights in each place was key. We knew we could get Heidi and Fritz real naps in real beds at least every other day, and it relieved us from packing everything up every single morning. We'll definitely follow that plan for the next few National Park trips. We're all eager for more and the kids are all getting mini day packs and ripstop pants for Christmas.
If you made it this far, congratulations!, and there are more photos here.
The landscape is radically different from anything the kids had ever seen -- Voyageurs or Shenandoah or Great Smoky Mountains wouldn't look terribly different from the woods around the cabin, but buttes and caves! It could have been the moon. I think the foreign landscape gave the kids a sense of why the Parks are so cool. Also, nothing was off limits. Those rocky buttes practically beg a child to come and climb. And they could climb! It wasn't like Yellowstone where you have to stay on a trail and many cool features are fundamentally untouchable. Soft rocks mean the Badlands landscape is constantly and rapidly changing. The rangers explained that climbing off-trail has less impact than a hard rain so we should feel free to explore.
We stayed in two cabins and one hotel. All were good, but the cabin at Cedar Pass in Badlands was great. We had a cooler full of snacks and picnic fixins so that we didn't have to eat out for every meal. There were some towns with good places to eat and some with almost nothing, so having cooler food allowed us to bypass the bottom of the fast-food barrel. The kids generally did great in the car with a combination of movies, books, and activities from the Target dollar bin. There was some screaming and whining, but no more than the usual levels of screaming and whining, but we were demanding a lot more from them in terms of activity and schedule so the overall ratio of awesomeness to obnoxiousness was really high.
Brace yourself for details and lots and lots of photos.
Day 1: Drive from Minneapolis to Badlands National Park
We rolled out of the driveway around 8 a.m. with a very neatly packed car. Even with luggage for 6, the cooler, pack n play, and stroller, we could still see out the back window. Karl FTW. Our first stop was Mitchell, SD for lunch and the Corn Palace. It was underwhelming -- I was prepared for an actual palace of corn, but it's more like an auditorium with corn murals. Pretty cool corn murals, but still, the children thought we were overselling this vacation. We introduced the kids to Arby's and loaded back in the car for another three hours to Badlands National Park.
Arrived at Badlands around 4:00. We stopped at the Visitor's Center, picked up the kids' Junior Ranger packets, explored a little around the trailhead for the Door/Notch trails. The kids immediately clambered up the first rocky thing they found. Heidi was nervous, especially when gusty wind blew her beloved new hat into a canyon, but she rallied to keep up with the older kids. They picked out a "trail" that consisted of poles loosely marking a possible path into the distance over the top of the moonscape, so we had a plan for Monday morning!
Restaurant options in Interior, SD are Limited. There are two restaurants and the first was inside the town gas station. We opted for the second, Wagon Wheel, which was charmingly local. They had surprisingly decent beer and lots of frozen pizza/nugget type options and two horses in the paddock next door, so everyone was pretty happy. A baby chick (maybe turkey?) hopped across the patio and we met half of the locals in trying to identify the bird's home.
We had an excellent little cabin at Cedar Pass lodge. The cabins have been very recently renovated and felt very fresh. It was fun to be all cozied up together in one room, like camping, except with real beds and air conditioning and a nice bathroom. We had a lovely view of the buttes and a bunch of sunflowers in the back. Off to a good start!
Day 2: Badlands National Park + Wall
We kicked off the first morning with muffins brought from home and some overloaded daypacks. Our first stops were the Door and Window trails scoped out the previous evening. The kids absolutely loved clambering all over the moonscape of the door trail. Henry and Ingrid ran ahead looking for the next marker and climbing everything in sight. Even Fritz and Heidi did really well -- we hardly carried Fritz at all. Ingrid did the whole thing in a zebra-ears headband, which solicited lots of comments from fellow hikers about the unusual wildlife.
We picked up Subway in Wall and took it back to the park and enjoyed a picnic at one of the overlooks. Then it was back to the cabin for naps for the younger kids, while the big kids went horseback riding! They rode with Hurley Butte Horseback and it was a huge hit. Rather than a traditional boring trail ride, this was riding on an actual working ranch with one of the sons from the ranch family. The kids got to explore a little and Karl learned a lot about ranching in the area. Highly recommended.
We had dinner from the cooler at the Bigfoot Pass overlook, which was lovely. Then we did the Fossil Trail around twilight, but alas, there was nowhere to see actual fossils, just a few interpretive signs. The kids were squirrely and we were tired of yelling at them not to climb so high, so we headed for the cabin. Fritz and I snuck out to chase the sunset. And then it was a hard sleep for all of us.
Day 3: Badlands to Wind Cave
We slept late (like 8:00) and went by the visitor's center to turn in the kids' Junior Ranger packets. The Ranger read them the park pledge and the kids were so earnest I nearly cried. Henry especially took this very seriously and really worked hard on his packets at each park.
We decided to drive the long way out of the park and I convinced everyone we could do one more short hike before we left. Famous last words. We pulled into the trailhead for Saddleback Pass because it looked like fun climbing near the trailhead and I thought we could go just half a mile out and back and call it a morning. We walked 50 feet and Fritz fell into a cactus. It was like a cartoon -- dozens of spines sticking straight out of his leg like a pincushion. It was awful. I had prepared a solid first aid kit and looked up some basic care for things I thought might conceivably happen. Gotta be honest, cactus was not something I expected in a state that far north. But I did have tweezers and witch hazel so we were mostly okay. The kids fed him M&Ms from the trail mix bag while I plucked spines from his leg. He was surprisingly tough.
Having removed all/most of the cactus from the toddler, we loaded back into the car and headed toward the park entrance. We had driven ten minutes when Ingrid said she didn't feel well. I peeled off the road and Ingrid spilled out of the car and puked repeatedly.
Between the barf and the cactus we decided it was time to give up. We skipped all additional planned activities and rerouted our drive through Rapid City, where we could visit Firehouse Brewery for a mid-morning cactus-recovery beer. The town was adorable and the brewery was excellent and after a beverage (or two) we had all forgiven South Dakota for the morning and were ready to move to Rapid City permanently.
An hour drive got us to Wind Cave National Park. We spotted pronghorn sheep and prairie dogs on the way in -- our first wildlife sighting!
We checked out animal pelts and got Junior Ranger packets while we waited for the Natural Entrance tour. This was the only realistic tour option for all four kids, especially since we weren't sure how the girls would do in a damp, cramped cave. Our tour leader was THE BEST -- Ranger Ben totally made that tour. He had a terrific knack for recounting the history of the cave in a series of stories.
Henry really wanted to go back on the harder cave tours. As it turned out, we could have stayed awhile to let him do another tour and just let the younger kids do an above-ground hike, but it was getting late and we wanted to get into the hotel.
We drove into Custer, which was our jumping-off point for Mt. Rushmore and Custer State Park. It was a great little town with lots of restaurant options. We stayed in a two-room suite at the Bavarian Inn. It was a nice space and very clean (though lacking in Bavarian themed decor, to Karl's dismay). Dinner was at the Begging Burro -- super solid Mexican food! The only downside was that the waiter was too slow for me to get a second tasty margarita.
There was still plenty of evening left so we decided to see Mt. Rushmore by twilight. Folks, I know I'm supposed to feel great awe and patriotism, but I just do not get Mt. Rushmore. I suppose it's an impressive testament to an idea in action but....it just doesn't do it for me. Give me the Lincoln Memorial any day. So we paid $10 for parking and took the requisite family photo. The evening light display is supposed to be cool but we just couldn't stay late enough.
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| Dab across America |
Day 4: Custer State Park
We woke up bright eyed and bushy tailed and eager to see some prairie animals so we started out to drive the Wildlife Loop. It was a total dud. Not a single large animal to be found even though we were on the road early in the morning. Unfortunately, spending the first hour in the car without seeing anything made everyone severely obnoxious and I was ready to leave them all in the prairie and wish them well. That not being allowed, we moved on to Sylvan Lake for a hike. The lake was beautiful and the hike was a perfect short loop with lots of fun terrain -- a rock-hop bridge, climbing up and down stones, viewing climbers tackling tall boulders, a stream and waterfall. The hike ends at a swimming beach but everyone except me and Fritz were to wussy to swim in the cold, cold water.
Everyone was still teetering on the cusp of obnoxiousness, so we decided to forgo another margarita lunch at the Begging Burro and returned to the hotel to picnic from the cooler. The older kids were supposed to do a trail ride while the younger ones napped, but neither of them wanted to rally, so they just swam in the hotel pool all afternoon. It was time for a break.
Refreshed after naps and chlorine, we reconvened for a dinner hayride with Blue Bell Chuckwagon Cookout. This was extremely cheesy but SO FUN for the kids. Our cowboy entertainer was the P.E. teacher at the local elementary school so he was great with the kids. Henry made a buddy, girls loved the hats and the music, Fritz just wanted to climb up and down the wagon ladder. Food was quite respectable and we got to see a beautiful part of the park. If you're in Custer, it's a great way to spend an evening with younger kids.
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| Showing off her missing teeth |
Day 5: Drive to North Dakota
The girls and I picked up breakfast at Baker's Bakery & Cafe while the boys packed up the car for our long-ish drive to North Dakota. Our plan was to head back into Custer State Park for Heidi to ride a pony and then do another hike. The big kids were surprisingly supportive of driving half an hour and standing around for half an hour so Heidi could ride. She was really excited about this event but got a little nervous when the moment came. I thought she might balk...and then the guide told her the horse's name.
And everything was fine. Better than fine. Maybe the most fun anyone has ever had riding twice around a small oval.
Just as she came around the final bend, the sky opened up to pouring rain with small hail. So again we skipped a final hike and detoured to Prairie Berry Winery for decent food and drink. I expected TripAdvisor overhype but it was really great. We brought home four bottles of Red Ass Rhubarb wine and will be ordering more.
Thus refreshed, we got back in the car for the 4.5 hour drive to Medora, ND. Google routed us on gravel roads for awhile, which was initially baffling but ended up being the loveliest part of the drive. We checked in at the Theodore Roosevelt Visitor Center and got ranger packets and checked the ranger talk schedule. Everyone was very excited about this park because it gets so few visitors. The initial views did not disappoint.
We had rented a small cabin on AirBNB. Basically a trailer decorated like a cabin, but it had bedroom walls and a kitchen and a patio, which we were all ready for after 5 days. I wasn't sure what to expect from Medora -- TripAdvisor and GoogleMaps made it seem like there was absolutely nothing. There were actually a handful of decent-looking dinner options, half a dozen ice cream parlors and cutesy shops, and an absolutely fantastic coffee shop. We had dinner at Little Missouri, where the children were initially so loud they drove the neighboring diners away, but the replacement diners were bikers en route to Sturgis and totally awesome.
Karl put the girls to bed and Henry and I drove back to the Cottonwood campground for the ranger night talk. We learned about the elk population (i.e., if you import something without natural predators you will soon have way too many of them) and Henry got to play a dramatically dying elk. It was fun to get out with him alone and cool for him to glimpse this part of the Park experience even though we weren't camping.
Day 6: TR South Unit
The morning started on a high note with breakfast from Hidden Springs Java. Best cold brew and breakfast sammies west of the Mississippi, no joke, we're still talking about them two weeks later. We drove into the park and were immediately rewarded with bison! Or as Fritz would say, "A BISON! BISON, MAMA, A BISON! BISON BISON BISON!"
The main road through the park forms a loop and we basically did every short hike along the loop.
First, the Ridgeline interpretive trail. Henry read the guide for us as we trekked from post to post, which just warmed my heart. This one was a really good distance and terrain for us.
Fritz did a ton of walking and hardly spent any time in the carrier. But sometimes he was just trying a little to hard to kill himself and had to be strapped down for everyone's sanity.
Having finished all the hikes one could realistically do with eight tiny legs, we piled into the car to drive home for lunch and soon came upon BISON, MAMA, BISON SEE DAT GUY BISON MAMA!!!!
All in all, an enormously successful morning. We stopped for provisions in Medora, grilled hot dogs at our cabin, then the big kids worked on their Junior Ranger packets and went to the geology talk at Painted Canyon while the little ones napped. Henry already knew everything from his interpretive trail reading and wowed everyone with his knowledge of Bentonite.
Post-naps, we had a rare ice cream before dinner, returned for dinner on the grill, and put the small ones to bed early. Henry and I went out for another night Ranger program, this one in honor of the full moon. There was traffic on the way.
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| photo by Henry |
Alas, it was cloudy part of the time, but still very cool to be out hiking in the park in near-darkness. We could hear buffalo and coyote in the valley below us.
Day 7: TR North Unit
We started early to drive an hour north to the North Unit of the Park (with a stop for Hidden Java sandwiches for the road). The kids were double excited for this day because they knew very very few people make it to the North Unit.
We spent most of the morning on the Caprock Coulee trail. There was lots of short ups and downs, some wooded and some rocky, and we spotted petrified wood, lots of cool rocks, and a bison print right in the mud next to the trail. Ingrid played in the trail dust and Fritz got into everything. Henry had become one with the National Parks and ran ahead like a mountain goat.
We stopped at the River Bend overlook for picnic lunch from the cooler. There were lots of retirees who smiled kindly at the children, who were surprisingly well-behaved as I doled out apple slices. I bribed everyone to sit on the 1930s stone shelter for potential Christmas card material.
And then one more overlook trail that I can't remember the name of. The landscape was spectacular in every direction.
Finally, we walked the Little Mo trail. There's a paved part and a real trail, which we had planned to do, but then someone needed to poop halfway through the lame paved part so we just ended it there. We were treated on one more giant herd of bison on the way out. It never got old.
Day 8: Drive
We finished the last-minute packing, grabbed one last round of coffee and breakfast sandwiches for the road, and got on Highway 94, which we did not leave for 8 hours. The kids watched eight million movies.
Roundup
It was such a great first trip to the National Parks! Doing three very different parks in one trip was fun and highlighted why the Parks are awesome. There was more (a lot more!) we could have done in each park, but I felt like we did everything we could with such small kids. We didn't want anyone -- them or us -- to be totally overwhelmed by trying hikes that were too challenging and that was the right decision. Short hikes with interesting terrain work so much better at this age than long hikes that are just flat treks. Also, staying two or three nights in each place was key. We knew we could get Heidi and Fritz real naps in real beds at least every other day, and it relieved us from packing everything up every single morning. We'll definitely follow that plan for the next few National Park trips. We're all eager for more and the kids are all getting mini day packs and ripstop pants for Christmas.
If you made it this far, congratulations!, and there are more photos here.
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